Brain Injury at Northwell Health Hospitals

When you or a loved one seeks medical care at a hospital for a brain injury, you trust that healthcare professionals will provide competent, timely treatment. Unfortunately, hospital negligence at facilities like Northwell Health can result in catastrophic outcomes, including permanent disability or death. Medical errors in brain injury cases can include delayed diagnosis, failure to monitor neurological changes, medication errors, and surgical mistakes that worsen the original injury.

If you suffered additional harm due to negligent brain injury treatment at a Northwell Health facility or any New York hospital, you have legal rights. Our experienced brain injury attorneys help victims hold negligent hospitals accountable and recover compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and long-term care needs.

What Constitutes Hospital Negligence in Brain Injury Cases?

Hospital negligence in brain injury cases occurs when healthcare providers fail to meet the accepted standard of care, resulting in harm to the patient. The standard of care represents what a reasonably competent medical professional would do under similar circumstances. When hospitals deviate from this standard through errors, omissions, or inadequate systems, they can be held legally liable for resulting injuries.

Brain injuries require immediate recognition and aggressive treatment. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 214,110 traumatic brain injury-related hospitalizations occurred in 2020, with 69,473 TBI-related deaths in 2021. Many of these cases involve critical decisions about diagnosis, imaging, medication, and monitoring that can determine whether a patient recovers or suffers permanent disability.

Hospital negligence can take many forms in brain injury treatment. Common examples include failing to order necessary diagnostic tests like CT scans or MRIs when a patient presents with head trauma symptoms, misreading or delaying interpretation of brain imaging results, inadequate neurological monitoring after head injury, medication errors including wrong dosages of anticoagulants or seizure medications, surgical errors during brain surgery or intracranial pressure monitoring, and discharge of patients with undiagnosed brain injuries or inadequate follow-up instructions.

Research shows that more than 50 percent of patients with traumatic brain injuries experience missed diagnoses in emergency room settings. Less than 25 percent of patients visiting emergency rooms who were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries had any mention of a brain injury in their medical records, according to studies on diagnostic accuracy.

Northwell Health Brain Injury Treatment and Recent Litigation

Northwell Health operates New York’s largest healthcare system, with 21 hospitals and more than 900 outpatient facilities across the region. The Northwell Health Traumatic Brain Injury Center at North Shore University Hospital provides specialized neurological care for patients with severe head trauma. Despite having dedicated brain injury treatment programs, Northwell Health facilities have faced medical malpractice litigation alleging failures in patient care.

In 2025, a Northwell Health medical malpractice case involved a nine-year-old patient who presented with neurological symptoms that progressively worsened during a four-day admission at Cohen Children’s Medical Center. The patient ultimately died from brain herniation secondary to an undiagnosed brain tumor. The plaintiff’s family filed claims of medical malpractice, negligent hiring and supervision, and wrongful death against Northwell Health, alleging that physicians failed to recognize and diagnose the life-threatening neurological condition despite worsening symptoms during hospitalization.

This case illustrates a critical issue in hospital negligence claims: when healthcare providers fail to investigate neurological symptoms adequately, even conditions unrelated to trauma can be missed with fatal consequences. Brain herniation occurs when increased intracranial pressure forces brain tissue through openings in the skull or between brain compartments, cutting off blood supply and causing rapid deterioration. Early recognition of symptoms like severe headache, altered mental status, vomiting, and focal neurological deficits should trigger immediate imaging and intervention.

Beyond medical malpractice litigation, Northwell Health has faced other serious allegations. In 2024, a staff member discovered that an employee had allegedly installed hidden cameras disguised as smoke detectors in restrooms at facilities. Despite learning of the surveillance in April 2024, Northwell Health did not notify approximately 13,000 affected individuals until May 2025. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General has documented settlements with Northwell for civil monetary penalties, including a $12.7 million settlement for allegedly submitting claims for spinal procedures that were not provided as claimed or medically unnecessary.

How Hospital Negligence Causes Brain Injury Complications

Brain injuries are time-sensitive medical emergencies. The window for effective intervention is often measured in minutes or hours, not days. When hospitals fail to act quickly or appropriately, preventable complications can transform a moderate injury into a catastrophic one.

Several mechanisms explain how hospital negligence worsens brain injury outcomes. Delayed diagnosis prevents timely intervention, allowing brain swelling and bleeding to progress unchecked. Inadequate monitoring means dangerous changes in neurological status go unnoticed until irreversible damage occurs. Medication errors can cause bleeding complications if anticoagulants are improperly managed or seizures if anti-seizure medications are not administered correctly. Surgical complications from errors during craniotomy, hematoma evacuation, or intracranial pressure monitor placement can introduce infection or cause additional brain damage. Finally, premature discharge or inadequate follow-up results in patients experiencing serious complications at home without proper medical supervision.

Brain injuries often present with subtle symptoms initially, then deteriorate rapidly. This pattern makes proper hospital protocols essential. According to legal analysis of brain injury misdiagnosis, common reasons doctors fail to diagnose brain injuries include symptoms that don’t appear immediately, limitations of imaging technology in detecting certain injury types, and failure to recognize conditions that can result in secondary brain damage.

Common Types of Hospital Negligence in Brain Injury Cases

Hospital negligence in brain injury treatment manifests in several distinct patterns, each with potentially devastating consequences for patients.

According to research from Johns Hopkins University, medical errors claim over 250,000 American lives annually, placing medical mistakes as the third leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease and cancer. While not all medical errors constitute legal negligence, this statistic underscores the serious impact of preventable hospital mistakes.

Proving Hospital Negligence in New York Brain Injury Cases

To successfully pursue a medical malpractice claim against a hospital in New York, you must prove four essential elements: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages.

First, you must establish that a doctor-patient relationship existed, creating a duty of care. When you check into a hospital or receive treatment in an emergency department, this relationship is automatically established. The hospital and its staff owe you competent medical care according to accepted standards.

Second, you must demonstrate that the hospital or its medical staff breached the standard of care. This requires expert testimony from qualified medical professionals who can explain what a reasonably competent hospital would have done under similar circumstances and how the defendant hospital’s actions fell below this standard. For example, if emergency department protocols require a CT scan for any patient with loss of consciousness after head trauma, and the hospital failed to order this scan, an expert can testify that this violated the standard of care.

Third, you must prove causation by showing that the breach of duty directly caused additional injury or worsened your condition. This is often the most challenging element in brain injury cases because you must demonstrate that the negligence caused harm beyond what would have resulted from the original injury. Medical experts review records to determine whether timely diagnosis and proper treatment would have prevented the complications you experienced.

Finally, you must document your damages including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses resulting from the negligence. In brain injury cases, damages often include extensive rehabilitation costs, long-term care needs, lost earning capacity, and profound impacts on quality of life.

Compensation Available for Brain Injury Hospital Negligence

Victims of hospital negligence in brain injury cases can recover several categories of damages under New York law. Unlike some states, New York does not impose caps on damages in medical malpractice cases, meaning compensation is based on the actual harm suffered.

Economic damages compensate for measurable financial losses. These include all past and future medical expenses related to treating the additional injury caused by negligence, such as extended hospitalizations, additional surgeries, rehabilitation therapy, home healthcare, assistive devices, and medications. Lost wages cover income lost during recovery, while lost earning capacity accounts for reduced ability to work in the future due to permanent brain damage. Other economic damages may include costs of modifying your home for accessibility and transportation expenses for ongoing medical care.

Non-economic damages compensate for intangible harms that don’t have specific price tags. Pain and suffering damages recognize the physical pain and mental anguish caused by the negligence. Emotional distress accounts for psychological trauma, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. Loss of enjoyment of life compensates for the inability to participate in activities and hobbies you previously enjoyed. Loss of consortium may be available to spouses for the impact on marital relationship and companionship.

In rare cases involving extreme recklessness or intentional misconduct, punitive damages may be awarded. However, New York courts reserve punitive damages for truly egregious conduct and they are uncommon in medical malpractice cases.

Time Limits for Filing Brain Injury Medical Malpractice Claims in New York

New York law imposes strict time limits for filing medical malpractice lawsuits. Under New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Section 214-a, medical malpractice claims must generally be filed within two years and six months from the date of the alleged malpractice, or from the end of continuous treatment by the defendant for the condition that gave rise to the claim.

The continuous treatment doctrine can extend this deadline if you continued receiving treatment from the same hospital or physician for the condition related to the negligence. However, once treatment ends, the 2.5-year statute of limitations begins to run. Missing this deadline typically results in permanent loss of your right to compensation, regardless of how strong your case may be.

Several exceptions may extend or modify the standard statute of limitations. For cases involving foreign objects left in the body during surgery, you have one year from discovery of the object or from when it reasonably should have been discovered. When the hospital or healthcare provider fraudulently concealed the malpractice, the statute of limitations may be tolled until you discover or reasonably should have discovered the fraud. For minors under age 18, special rules apply that may extend the filing deadline.

Cases against government-operated hospitals require even shorter notice periods. If your injury occurred at a municipal hospital in New York City or other government facility, you must file a notice of claim within 90 days of the incident. This is an extremely short deadline that makes immediate legal consultation essential.

How Medical Malpractice Differs from General Hospital Negligence

While the terms are often used interchangeably, medical malpractice and general hospital negligence have distinct legal meanings in New York. Understanding the difference affects how your case is pursued and proven.

Medical malpractice specifically involves clinical decisions and medical judgment by healthcare professionals. This includes diagnosis errors, treatment decisions, surgical technique, medication management, and other aspects of medical care requiring professional training. Medical malpractice claims almost always require expert testimony from similarly credentialed medical professionals who can explain how the defendant’s actions deviated from accepted medical standards.

General hospital negligence covers non-clinical failures in hospital operations and administration. Examples include inadequate staffing levels that prevent proper patient monitoring, failure to maintain safe premises leading to slip and fall injuries, defective medical equipment that wasn’t properly maintained, failure to implement proper protocols and safety systems, and negligent credentialing of physicians with inadequate qualifications or disciplinary histories.

Many brain injury cases involve both medical malpractice and general negligence theories. For instance, if a neurosurgeon made errors during brain surgery (medical malpractice) and the hospital also failed to ensure adequate post-operative nursing staff to monitor for complications (general negligence), both claims may be pursued simultaneously.

The Role of Expert Testimony in Brain Injury Hospital Negligence Cases

New York law requires expert medical testimony in virtually all medical malpractice cases. Courts recognize that jurors lack the specialized knowledge to determine whether complex medical decisions met professional standards without guidance from qualified experts.

Your attorney will retain multiple expert witnesses to support different aspects of your case. A neurosurgeon or neurologist testifies about the standard of care for brain injury treatment, what steps should have been taken, and how the defendant’s actions fell short. A neuroradiologist may testify about proper interpretation of CT scans and MRIs and whether imaging was ordered and reviewed appropriately. A life care planner documents future medical needs and associated costs for a comprehensive damages presentation. An economic expert calculates lost earning capacity and the present value of future financial losses.

Expert qualifications matter significantly. New York courts require that medical experts be licensed physicians who are practicing or teaching in the same or similar specialty as the defendant. They must demonstrate sufficient familiarity with the standard of care applicable to the type of treatment at issue. Defendants often challenge expert qualifications, making the selection of highly credentialed experts with relevant experience critical to case success.

Brain Injury Treatment Resources at Northwell Health and Alternatives

Despite litigation involving some Northwell Health facilities, the system does maintain specialized brain injury treatment programs. The Northwell Health Traumatic Brain Injury Center at North Shore University Hospital provides comprehensive care for severe brain injuries, including neurosurgical intervention, intensive care monitoring, rehabilitation services, and long-term follow-up. The Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery offers specialized expertise in complex neurological conditions.

Other major brain injury treatment centers in the New York area include NYU Langone’s Rusk Rehabilitation, which has specialized traumatic brain injury programs, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital’s brain injury treatment centers, Mount Sinai’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, and Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey, recognized nationally for brain injury rehabilitation.

When evaluating hospital care quality, consider factors like availability of board-certified neurosurgeons 24/7, dedicated neuroscience intensive care units with specialized nursing staff, availability of advanced imaging and monitoring technology, established protocols for rapid response to neurological emergencies, and comprehensive rehabilitation services for recovery support.

What to Do If You Suspect Hospital Negligence Caused Your Brain Injury

If you believe hospital negligence caused or worsened your brain injury, take immediate steps to protect your legal rights and strengthen a potential claim.

First, obtain copies of all medical records from the hospital and any other providers involved in your care. New York law gives you the right to access your complete medical records. These documents provide critical evidence of what treatment you received, when symptoms appeared, what tests were ordered, and what decisions were made. Request records promptly while memories are fresh and before the statute of limitations expires.

Second, document your injury and ongoing symptoms. Keep a detailed journal noting physical symptoms, cognitive difficulties, emotional changes, and how your injury affects daily activities. Take photographs of visible injuries. Save all bills and receipts related to medical treatment, medications, medical equipment, and travel to appointments. Maintain records of missed work and lost wages.

Third, do not speak with hospital risk management or insurance representatives without legal counsel. Hospitals often reach out to patients or families after adverse outcomes. While they may appear sympathetic, their goal is to minimize legal liability. Statements you make can be used against you later. Politely decline to give recorded statements or sign any documents until you consult an attorney.

Fourth, consult with an experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. Brain injury malpractice cases are among the most complex areas of law, requiring medical expertise, substantial resources for expert witnesses, and deep understanding of both medical and legal issues. Most medical malpractice attorneys offer free initial consultations to evaluate your case.

Choosing the Right Attorney for Your Brain Injury Hospital Negligence Case

Not all personal injury attorneys handle medical malpractice cases, and not all medical malpractice attorneys have experience with complex brain injury claims. Selecting the right legal representation significantly impacts your case outcome.

Look for attorneys with specific experience handling brain injury medical malpractice cases, not just general personal injury claims. Ask about their track record with hospital negligence cases, including settlements and verdicts obtained. Successful brain injury cases often result in substantial compensation reflecting the severity of these injuries and lifetime care needs.

Consider the firm’s resources for handling complex medical cases. Medical malpractice litigation requires significant upfront investment in expert witnesses, medical record review, and case preparation. Established firms have relationships with qualified medical experts and financial resources to pursue cases against well-funded hospital defense teams.

Evaluate the attorney’s willingness to take cases to trial if necessary. While many cases settle, hospitals and their insurers are more likely to offer fair settlements when they know your attorney has trial experience and willingness to present your case to a jury if settlement negotiations fail.

The Hospital’s Defense Strategies and How to Counter Them

Hospitals and their insurance carriers defend aggressively against malpractice claims using predictable strategies. Understanding common defenses helps you and your attorney prepare effective counterarguments.

Hospitals often claim the treatment met the standard of care, even if outcomes were poor. They present their own expert witnesses who testify that clinical decisions were reasonable given the information available at the time. Your attorney counters this by presenting stronger expert testimony, highlighting specific protocol violations, and demonstrating how the treatment deviated from published guidelines and accepted practice.

Defense attorneys frequently argue that the patient’s poor outcome resulted from the severity of the original injury, not from hospital negligence. This defense claims that even with perfect care, the patient would have suffered the same disability or death. Your experts must show through medical evidence that timely intervention would have prevented or minimized the harm you suffered.

Hospitals may claim that the patient contributed to the poor outcome through non-compliance with instructions or pre-existing conditions. Under New York’s comparative negligence law, damages can be reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to the plaintiff. Your attorney must demonstrate that any patient actions were not a substantial factor in causing the injury.

Some hospitals attack the qualifications of your expert witnesses, arguing they lack sufficient knowledge of the applicable standard of care. This makes expert selection critical. Your attorney must retain highly credentialed experts with relevant clinical experience who can withstand rigorous qualification challenges.

How Brain Injury Severity Affects Medical Malpractice Claims

Brain injuries range from mild concussions to severe traumatic brain injuries with permanent disability. The severity of your injury significantly impacts medical malpractice claims, affecting both the standard of care expected and the damages available.

Mild traumatic brain injury or concussion cases often involve failure to diagnose in emergency settings. Patients may be sent home with serious brain injuries that worsen without proper monitoring. While these cases can be challenging because outcomes are often good with rest and time, significant complications can occur if patients develop delayed bleeding or swelling that goes unrecognized.

Moderate brain injuries typically involve loss of consciousness, abnormal imaging findings like skull fractures or small bleeds, and hospitalization for observation. Negligence often involves inadequate monitoring during hospitalization, delayed surgical intervention when bleeding expands, or premature discharge before the patient has stabilized.

Severe traumatic brain injury cases involve profound neurological damage requiring intensive care. Negligence may occur during emergency resuscitation, surgical treatment, intensive care management, or rehabilitation. These cases often result in the largest damage awards due to permanent disability, lifetime care needs, and complete loss of independence.

According to the CDC, people age 75 and older had the highest rates of TBI-related hospitalizations and deaths, accounting for about 32 percent of TBI-related hospitalizations and 28 percent of TBI-related deaths. This demographic often faces increased vulnerability to hospital negligence due to age-related factors that complicate diagnosis and treatment.

The Impact of Hospital Understaffing on Brain Injury Patient Safety

Adequate staffing levels directly affect patient safety in brain injury care. When hospitals operate with insufficient nursing staff, patients don’t receive proper neurological monitoring, dangerous symptoms go unrecognized, and preventable complications occur.

Brain injury patients in intensive care units require frequent neurological assessments to detect deterioration. Nurses check pupil responses, Glasgow Coma Scale scores, motor function, and vital signs at regular intervals. When nurse-to-patient ratios are inadequate, these critical assessments may be delayed or skipped, allowing life-threatening changes to progress undetected.

Research consistently shows that lower nurse staffing levels correlate with higher rates of patient complications and deaths. A landmark study found that each additional patient assigned to a nurse increased the odds of patient death within 30 days by 7 percent. For brain injury patients requiring intensive monitoring, understaffing can be catastrophic.

Hospitals may be held liable for negligent staffing decisions if inadequate nurse-to-patient ratios prevented proper monitoring and contributed to patient harm. This involves corporate negligence claims against the hospital itself, separate from individual medical malpractice claims against specific physicians or nurses.

Frequently Asked Questions About Brain Injury Hospital Negligence

Take Action to Protect Your Rights After Brain Injury Hospital Negligence

If you or a loved one suffered additional harm due to negligent brain injury treatment at Northwell Health or any New York hospital, you have limited time to pursue compensation. Medical malpractice cases are among the most complex areas of personal injury law, requiring immediate action to preserve evidence, obtain medical records, and meet strict legal deadlines.

Brain injuries often result in permanent disabilities requiring lifelong care and support. The compensation you recover may provide for decades of medical treatment, rehabilitation, home modifications, assistive technology, and lost income. Don’t let hospitals avoid accountability for preventable harm caused by inadequate care, delayed diagnosis, or treatment errors.

An experienced brain injury attorney can evaluate whether you have grounds for a medical malpractice claim, retain qualified medical experts to review your records and establish the standard of care, investigate the hospital’s policies and whether they were followed, calculate the full value of your damages including future care needs, negotiate with hospital insurers and defense attorneys, and take your case to trial if fair settlement cannot be reached.